Undergraduate Summer Research Awards

This page includes information for NSERC USRA, UBC Science Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Awards, UBC Work Learn International Research Awards (WLIURA), and other summer research awards for undergraduate students.

The Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) enable undergraduate students to spend the summer months working with an active research group at many participating universities across Canada. The duration of the award is 14 to 16 weeks on a full-time basis. Students acquire valuable research experience while interacting with professors, postdoctoral fellows and other graduate and undergraduate students.

 

** The NEW deadline for all PHAS USRA awards is January 15th **

 

*In order to be eligible for these awards, students are required to be residing in Canada for the duration of the award period (May to August).

Click here to find out how to make the most of your research experience!

Click here to see comments from undergraduate students who completed summer research projects at UBC in previous years.

*See below for this year's and previous years' USRA project descriptions in the "Undergrad USRA Projects" section.

*Summer 2025 COVID information: We do not have any updates at this time for Summer 2025. UBC does not currently have any active Covid policies/procedures. In past years, students were required to reside in Canada and needed to provide a Canadian/local address. It is assumed at this time that UBC USRAs will be held in-person in the Vancouver area (on or off-campus). We will update this webpage as we have more information re: project restrictions, travel restrictions and safety guidelines.

*Please ensure you read the department's USRA policy at the bottom of the page.

 

THE AWARDS

Providing Science students more opportunities to experience research is a goal of the Faculty of Science. We run three award competitions every year, over which the Dean’s Office has oversight. All three programs require a student to work at least 16 weeks and to be paid at least BC's minimum wage standard. All student wages are paid out of the project supervisor’s account with the award reimbursing the supervisor for a portion of the cost. The deadline for applications for NSERC/SURE/WLIURA Summer 2025 is on January 15th, 2025. If you have not heard back from our USRA Committee and Undergraduate Coordinator by March 31st 2025, you are not a recipient of a research position within PHAS. By this time, our Awards decisions and allocations have been made.  

  1. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) – this award is restricted to students who are Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents. They may be registered at UBC or another university. The subsidy is $6,000 for Summer 2025. The rest of the costs must come from an eligible NSERC grant. All information on eligibility and award conditions can be found on the following websites: NSERC USRA (for students) & NSERC USRA (for faculty & staff). Application deadline: January 15th, 2025.
  2. Science Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Awards - open to UBC Vancouver BSc undergraduates of any nationality (including International students). The subsidy is $3,000 this year for Summer 2024. The rest of the costs can come from any grant source that authorizes such an expenditure. Application deadline: January 15th, 2025.
  3. Work Learn International Undergraduate Research (WLIURA) Awards - only for UBC Vancouver BSc students who are not Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents. The subsidy is $6,000 this year for Summer 2025. The rest of the costs can come from any grant source that authorizes such an expenditure. Students are appointed for a minimum of 16 weeks between early May and the end of August. We run this competition with NSERC/SURE to match students with faculty research opportunities. PHAS Dept. Application deadline: January 15th, 2025. *Please note that Work Learn job postings are managed centrally by UBC Centre for Student Involvement and Careers. Students who have not secured an award with a researcher will be able to apply for Work/Learn jobs as they will be posted at UBC CareersOnline in March, 2025 (exact dates: TBD). We will also notify students in March when Careers Online has posted WLIURA openings. Please see below for WLIURA application instructions. 

 

WRITING YOUR APPLICATION LETTERS

Projects

Before submitting your formal USRA application (see Departmental Application Procedures below), we encourage you to write a brief letter to each of the faculty members with whom you might like to work, explaining which aspects of their research interest you and what you believe you have to offer their projects (this is excellent practice for future job searches!).

Click here to see a partial list of available Summer 2025 USRA projects hosted at UBC.

Click here to see the list of available Summer USRA projects from previous years that were hosted by UBC PHAS.

If there are faculty with whom you have specific interest in, however, do not have any projects posted for this summer, feel free to contact them (a similar, brief email is usually best) to find out if they have possible summer research projects. They may have projects in previous USRA cycles and are looking to fill ongoing student research positions. 

Whether or not you secure a faculty member willing to supervise a summer work project, please submit your application with your three choices, and note in your application if you have a faculty member already interested in working with you. Securing a faculty member does not guarantee an award! The Awards Committee will assess all applications together, and if there is an award recommended to a student who has a supervisor already in place, we will then contact that supervisor to confirm.  

General information on the Physics and Astronomy research being carried out at UBC can be found on the departmental Website: http://www.phas.ubc.ca/research-areas.

IMPORTANT

Only faculty/supervisors who are NSERC grant holders are eligible to supervise an NSERC USRA student. Please refer to this list of UBC Faculty of Science grant holders, under Physics & Astronomy. If the faculty you are interested in working with doesn't appear here, please reach out to them to confirm if they are a grant holder (if they believe they should be on this list, they will need to contact nserc.usra@ubc.ca). 

Our department strives to ensure that our annual allocation of NSERC awards are received by members of PHAS. We ask that you apply to work with supervisors whose research is done within or associated with the department. As such, your application will not be successful if your choices are outside of PHAS. However, if your choice of faculty is an NSERC grant holder with another UBC faculty or department, AND is an associated member or adjunct with UBC PHAS department, your application may be considered. *We require you to please clearly indicate in your personal statement if you will be applying to more than one UBC faculty/department's NSERC cycle, with the SAME choice of faculty. (Ex. if you apply to two DIFFERENT faculties/departments with the same supervisor who is a member of one and associated with another). This will not lower your chances and we will not disclose the outcome of your application during our adjudication cycle, rather it will help eliminate administrative errors and allow for more direct communication between committees.* We do not require you to inform us of NSERC applications with non-PHAS affiliated faculty at UBC, or applications with other institutions. 

 

PREPARING ALL APPLICATION DOCUMENTS

A. Domestic Students: Departmental Application Procedures - NSERC USRA

The following procedures only apply to UBC Students with Domestic status (Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents) who are applying for NSERC USRA awards at UBC. *Note: NSERC awards are available at all all major Canadian Universities, however deadlines may vary. Please check application deadline dates carefully for each institution.

Eligibility: To apply you should be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident completing the 2nd or higher year of an undergraduate Physics/Astronomy/Engineering Physics program. (*Note: 1st year students are eligible for NSERC if they have completed two terms of registered courses prior to the summer term where they would receive an award). You should have obtained a cumulative average of at least B+ over the previous years of university study.

*See section B for SURE Award application information. 

NSERC documentation:

1. Students must submit an official application to NSERC by filling out the NSERC Form 202 Part I through the NSERC online portal, including uploading copies of your official transcripts (and the legend on the back). To access the online application, please see here http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/UG-PC/USRA-BRPC_eng.asp. Your 'Form 202 Part I' will have a unique NSERC ref. number. Submit an e-copy or PDF of this form to UBC Physics and Astronomy Department (ugcoord@phas.ubc.ca) by 11.59pm PST, as part of your application by January 15th, 2025. This form is NOT required for WLIURA and SURE applications. 

2. NSERC Form 202 Part II - this form is for the faculty supervisor to fill out, once we have matched a student with that supervisor. It is not required in student's applications. The deadline for NSERC Form 202 Part II will be sometime in March, 2025.

What to include in your application:

Please ensure the following five components are included in your application via email, to ugcoord@phas.ubc.ca. The file name of each document should be saved as your full name and the type of document:

  • Form 202 Part I, as mentioned, above. Please submit as a PDF. NOT required for WLIURA and SURE applications.
  • Official transcripts - We will accept a PDF scanned copy of your official transcripts, or e-copy of your official transcripts. Official transcripts include the registrar's signature on the copy. If you have attended any post-secondary institutions prior to UBC (or your current university), please also included these official transcripts. 
  • Curriculum vitae (CV/resume). Please submit as a PDF.
  • Personal statement indicating your research interests and the names of two-three, (preferably three) UBC faculty members you would be most interested in working with during the summer, indicated clearly at the top as your first, second, and third choice of faculty/supervisor. We ask you to share if your choice of supervisor has expressed interest in working with you. 
    • Please indicate that you are applying for NSERC, SURE, or both. 
    • Consider your personal statement to be like a cover letter: you want to include your interests, experience and what you would bring to a research project, as well as some information about your future career goals. 
    • Please submit this as a PDF document. 
  • At least one (two would be highly recommended) letter(s) of reference from a faculty member of your home institution, or supervisor in a previous job (or volunteer activity). You will not be permitted to send these. We require all letters to be submitted by your referee(s) directly to (ugcoord@phas.ubc.ca) as PDFs, and not as Word documents and email messages. You can check with us if your letters of reference have been sent by your referees. 

 

B. International Students: Departmental Application Procedures -  Work Learn International Undergraduate Research Awards (WLIURA), SURE, & SBQMI Awards. 

The following procedures only apply to UBC Students with International status (with a current study permit and work visa) who can only apply for WLIURA Work Learn International Undergraduate Research Awards, SURE Awards, & SBQMI Awards. Domestic students (including Permanent Residents) are required to submit a NSERC USRA application as described above.

Eligibility - Work Learn International Undergraduate Research Awards (WLIURA): To apply you should be a UBC Vancouver B.Sc. undergraduate on a study permit (i.e. "international") and holding a current work visa (which is valid through the duration of the appointment), completing the 2nd or higher year of an undergraduate Physics/Astronomy program. You should have obtained a cumulative average of at least B+ over the previous years of university study. WLIURA documentation.

WLIURA Award applications operate differently than the NSERC. Students are encouraged to discuss and work with a faculty member to submit a joint proposal, of which, the submission must be done by their supervisors, to UBC Careers Online. Only once the supervisors' project is approved, will they be eligible to employ the student as a WLIURA recipient. To get started, students should either reach out and indicate their interest to a supervisors/faculty, if they are aware of their research/ projects, OR if they are unsure, we highly encourage them to first view the current and previous USRA project lists, and inquire whether the supervisor is interested in working with them and submitting a proposal to UBC Careers, with the project. In either case, if approved, the project will be posted on Careers Online with an internal candidate (you then do not need to apply to Careers Online). Some supervisors may not secure an internal candidate, and will instead choose to submit their project to Careers Online, which will be posted for applications in March. 

Regardless of whether a supervisor is submitting their proposal with you, or you are applying in March to Careers Online. We ask that you:

i) Submit your WLIURA application to PHAS department (ugcoord@phas.ubc.ca) by the Jan. 15th deadline. If the supervisor's submission to Careers Online is delayed past this date, we will accept your WLIURA application documents until the 1st of February. If you are unable to submit a joint proposal with a supervisor, we still require your application submission by Jan. 15th. If there is a WLIURA-approved supervisor with an open position, this will allow our USRA Committee to identify and pair you with them.

ii) You can apply to the WLIURA position through UBC's Centre for Student Involvement and Careers via Careers Online, in March. We will notify students when PHAS supervisor's WLIURA positions have been posted. We ask that you still submit your application with the below documents to PHAS dept. via ugcoord@phas.ubc.ca. 

  • Official transcripts - We will accept a PDF scanned copy of your official transcripts, or e-copy of your official transcripts. Official transcripts include the registrar's signature on the copy.  If you have attended any post-secondary institutions prior to UBC, please also included these official transcripts. 
  • Curriculum vitae (CV/resume). Please submit as a PDF.
  • Personal statement indicating your research interests and the names of two-three, (preferably three) UBC faculty members you would be most interested in working with during the summer, indicated clearly at the top as your first, second, and third choice of faculty/supervisor. We ask you to share if your choice of supervisor has expressed interest in working with you. 
    • Please indicate that you are applying for WLIURA, SURE, or both. 
    • Consider your personal statement to be like a cover letter: you want to include your interests, experience and what you would bring to a research project, as well as some information about your future career goals. 
    • Please submit this as a PDF document. 
  • At least one (two would be highly recommended) letter(s) of reference from a faculty member of your home institution, or supervisor in a previous job (or volunteer activity). You will not be permitted to send these. We require all letters to be submitted by your referee(s) directly to (ugcoord@phas.ubc.ca) as PDFs, and not as Word documents and email messages. You can check with us if your letters of reference have been sent by your referees.

 

Eligibility - SURE (Science Undergraduate Research Experience) Award : Both Domestic and International students can apply. You should be a UBC Vancouver B.Sc undergraduate of any nationality completing the 2nd or higher year of an undergraduate Physics/Astronomy program. You should have obtained a cumulative average of at least B+ over the previous years of university study. 

Instructions: You are welcome to submit the same NSERC OR WLIURA application as your applications for SURE. There is no need to apply twice. Please indicate in your personal statement that you are applying for the SURE award, as well. If you are only interested in the SURE award, you can apply using the same required documents as in the WLIURA award. 

 

SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION

All applications can be sent via email (and if you wish to submit paper copies as well, you can deliver in-person) to:

PHAS Undergraduate Office c/o Shawn Salgadoe at email: ugcoord@phas.ubc.ca 
UBC, Department of Physics and Astronomy
Rm. 329A, 6224 Agricultural Road
Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6T 1Z1

Reference letters will be accepted via email at (ugcoord@phas.ubc.ca), directly emailed from referees, with the applicant's full name indicated in the email subject line (ie. USRA Reference Letter for John Smith).

Dates: The UBC Faculty of Science notifies us of our USRA/Dean of Science Undergraduate Research Award allotment by February. We will try to have all decisions made and positions offered as soon as possible after we know how many we have to offer. Because this part of the process must be completed expeditiously, please make sure we have your correct email address!

Selection criteria: Marks, recommendations and previous acknowledgements of distinction are important, of course; so are the aesthetics of presentation and content of the CV and personal statement. However, attention is also paid to the mutual enthusiasm of the student and the prospective supervisor for working together. Supervisors will be asked to "rank" students for this purpose. Because one of the primary benefits of USRA subsidies is to introduce new students to supervisors at a reduced financial risk, we rarely offer an award to the same student twice with the same supervisor in this Department. It is also rare to offer two USRA subsidies to the same supervisor at any given time.

NSERC no longer covers travel expenses for the two-way trip to and from your home university.

*Note to UBC students: USRAs are competitive! We typically place 25% of applicants. To increase your chances you may wish to apply to more than one award (i.e., NSERC awards and WorkLearn positions, for example - see section "Other Summer Research Opportunities", below, to find more award options). Re: NSERC - as this award is offered across Canada, we strongly recommend students apply for this award at other universities to give yourself more choices, and have the opportunity to conduct research outside of UBC/build up your contacts in other research communities.

 

*IMPORTANT PHAS USRA POLICY*

ALL PHAS USRA award offers are facilitated by the department's USRA Committee, and as such, are only considered official if written and sent by either the PHAS; USRA Committee, Undergraduate Coordinator, or Communications Coordinator. Faculty/supervisors are eligible to hold NSERC grants and apply for UBC Work Learn subsidies, which are administered through their appointments with the PHAS Department. While we encourage supervisors to identify students of whom they have interest in working with, they are not, however, permitted to offer PHAS department's awards to students or disclose critical information in the adjudication cycle, without it being approved by the USRA Committee. If in any circumstance this may occur or be misinterpreted, we will refer both faculty and student to this section. We encourage you to send us any questions or concerns, if this may be the case. All NSERC applications are reviewed and ranked according to the USRA Committees' criteria. As such, the adjudication of the department's NSERC USRA awards must remain consistent throughout the process. 

Process:
Faculty/supervisors will be sent NSERC applicants files to be reviewed. If they respond with interest in any particular student, the USRA Committee will first confirm if they can allocate an award to this student. Once confirmed, the Undergraduate Coordinator will send the department's offer to the student, on behalf of the supervisor. If accepted by the student, the supervisor will send the NSERC Form 202 Part II to NSERC, who will in return send their official award offer to the student at a later date.

 

Undergrad USRA Projects 

Click here to see a list of available Summer 2025 USRA projects that will be hosted by UBC PHAS on campus.

Click here to see the list of available Summer USRA projects from previous years that were hosted by UBC PHAS.

IMPORTANT (as mentioned above)

Only faculty/supervisors who are NSERC grant holders are eligible to supervise an NSERC USRA student. Please refer to this list of UBC Faculty of Science grant holders, under Physics & Astronomy. If the faculty you are interested in working with doesn't appear here, please reach out to them to confirm if they are a grant holder (if they believe they should be on this list, they will need to contact nserc.usra@ubc.ca). 

Our department strives to ensure that our annual allocation of NSERC awards are received by members of PHAS. We ask that you apply to work with supervisors whose research is done within or associated with the department. As such, your application will not be successful if your choices are outside of PHAS. However, if your choice of faculty is an NSERC grant holder with another UBC faculty or department, AND is an associated member or adjunct with UBC PHAS department, your application may be considered. *We require you to please clearly indicate in your personal statement if you will be applying to more than one UBC faculty/department's NSERC cycle, with the SAME choice of faculty. (Ex. if you apply to two DIFFERENT faculties/departments with the same supervisor who is a member of one and associated with another). This will not lower your chances and we will not disclose the outcome of your application during our adjudication cycle, rather it will help eliminate administrative errors and allow for more direct communication between committees.* We do not require you to inform us of NSERC applications with non-PHAS affiliated faculty at UBC, or applications with other institutions. 

 

USEFUL LINKS

 

More Summer Research Opportunities For Which You Can Apply:

 

Return to top